The Department of Defense has linked large sums of cash between corporations and China’s People’s Liberation Army to influence U.S. policy this year, lobbying records show.
DJI, a drone manufacturer, and Tencent, a technology conglomerate, appear on the Pentagon’s 1260h entity list. The list of “Chinese military companies” documents corporations that the DOD has determined are owned or otherwise controlled by the Chinese military, according to federal law. Firms knowingly collaborating with the Chinese Communist Party to develop military technology or serve as defense contractors are also included. The duo of firms spent just over $1.1 million on lobbying operations during this year’s first and second quarters, including on matters related to national security.
“China exploits our open and democratic processes for their military advantage,” Michael Lucci, CEO of the national security organization State Armor, told the Washington Examiner. “DJI and Tencent are both blacklisted by DOD as Chinese Military Companies, yet they both continue buying influence through high-priced lobbyists to influence U.S. policymakers.”
DJI, for instance, aggressively lobbied against the Countering CCP Drones Act after it passed the House and was introduced in the Senate. The legislation would have banned DJI-manufactured drones from operating on U.S. communications infrastructure, rendering the wirelessly controlled drones functionally unusable. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) introduced the bill in April 2023 over concerns that the Chinese manufacturer could be using its products to send sensitive information about Americans to the CCP.
Independent researchers have also found that the app used to control DJI’s drones collects large quantities of personal data that the Chinese government could potentially access, according to the New York Times. The Treasury and Commerce Departments have penalized DJI for providing the Chinese government with the surveillance drones used to spy on Uyghur Muslims, an ethnic group international observers have accused China of perpetrating genocide against.
Following DJI’s lobbying efforts, the Countering CCP Drones Act has failed to advance in the Senate so far.
The drone manufacturer retained former White House officials, congressional chiefs of staff, and a collection of other one-time top government staffers for its influence operation.
“American policymakers should shape policy to benefit Americans,” Hudson Institute senior fellow Michael Sobolik told the Washington Examiner. “That’s a boring statement anywhere in America because it’s common-sense, but it’s radical in Washington, in large part because of the malign influence of foreign actors who hijack our policymaking process to benefit America’s enemies.”
“That’s what’s happening with actors like DJI and Tencent. DJI drones present an acute national security threat to America’s critical infrastructure, and Tencent is a designated Chinese military company by the DOD,” Sobolik added. “It isn’t acceptable behavior for K Street lobbying firms to take on national security threats as clients. At the very least, they should be registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. At most, congressional offices should refuse meetings with these firms as long as they represent CCP-controlled clients.”
DJI and Tencent dispute their placement on the Pentagon’s 1260h list. Records show that Tencent is actively lobbying to be removed from the list. Media reports, however, show that Tencent has ties to the CCP and its security apparatus.
The conglomerate has been implicated in the Chinese Communist Party’s censorship efforts. It has reportedly provided the Chinese government with information leading to the arrests of religious and political dissidents through its control of the messaging platform WeChat, a property mentioned in its lobbying documents.
Tencent co-founder and CEO Ma Huateng is a member of the CCP who served two terms as part of China’s National People’s Congress. The CCP has moved to acquire “golden shares,” relatively small ownership stakes that legally empower the Chinese government to take control over key business decisions, in Tencent.
Daniel Marti, who served as the Obama White House’s intellectual property czar from 2015 to 2017, is among the lobbyists representing Tencent.
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The DJI and Tencent lobbying firms include CLS Strategies, Liberty Government Affairs, Sidley Austin, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP, and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. Beginning in June 2026, consultants who lobby for Pentagon-designated Chinese military companies will be barred from contracting with the DOD.
Some experts have proposed other policies to regulate such lobbying.
“The federal government ought to take a lesson from the states to name and shame sellouts, and to cut off foreign adversary funding on Capitol Hill,” Lucci told the Washington Examiner. “Nebraska Gov. [Jim] Pillen and [state] Sen. Eliot Bostar created a new law that requires expansive FARA-like disclosures from foreign adversary lobbyists that are exempted under federal law.”
“The Nebraska law also puts lobbyists on what is effectively a traitors list if they represent Chinese Military Companies,” Lucci added. “Texas’s new law, championed by Rep. Stan Gerdes and signed by Gov. Abbott, bans statehouse lobbyists from accepting any payment from foreign adversaries. D.C. should follow suit because Chinese military influence is far more dangerous on Capitol Hill than in statehouses.”